Extra Commitment Opportunities

There is a channel through which gifts can be designated for specific items that support the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s work around the world. These are called Extra Commitment Opportunities (ECOs). You can give directly to an ECO account online or by mailing your check designating the name and account number of the particular item you have chosen to:

PC(USA) Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

Your gift will go directly into the ECO Account designated, and you will receive a letter indicating that your gift has been received and will be used for the purpose intended.

Below are some ECOs related to Republic of South Africa. For a complete listing visit Mission Funding's Web site and type Republic of South Africa into the search box.

Agriculture and Hunger

Joining Hands in South Africa

Gifts to this account give general support for program activities by the Joining Hands partner network in South Africa focused on land issues, especially access to land for the poorest of the poor in South Africa.

Children and Youth

Children of Africa

Development

Southern Africa Regional Liaison—Programs

Support for this ECO will be used for operating, travel and administrative expenses for the work of Regional Liaisons in helping implement agreed-upon programs with partner churches and institutions; supporting PC(USA) congregations and presbyteries in direct mission involvement with partners; and giving practical, pastoral and culture/language transition support to other PC(USA) mission personnel serving in the region, which includes Angola, Lesotho, Mauritius and South Africa.

Education

New Schools for a New South Africa

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing post-apartheid South Africa is that of providing schools for the millions of children and young people for whom the opportunity of a good education has been a dream denied. The goal of this project is to make available 10 matching grants to South African community-based groups that have accepted former President Nelson Mandela's commitment to help them build and run their own schools.

Health

AIDS Consultant in Southern Africa

PC(USA) regional AIDS consultants help partner churches in Africa assess, plan and implement HIV/AIDS prevention and care projects and also serve to help congregations in the United States become more aware of and engaged in PC(USA)'s response to the AIDS pandemic. Contributions to this account help support community-based orphan care programs and training of caregivers and provide the working budget for the regional AIDS consultant in Southern Africa.

New Malaria Initiative

Malaria kills more than 1 million people annually, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria claims the lives of 3,000 young children every day. The 2006 PC(USA) General Assembly has responded to malaria's tragic toll by calling for a collaborative malaria initiative that will broaden and strengthen the PC(USA)'s current malaria prevention program. This effort is to begin with the formation of a special committee, to be composed of representatives of Presbyterian church partners in Africa and U.S. Presbyterians. The committee will develop an international plan of action to address the scourge of malaria and present the plan to the 2008 General Assembly. Contributions to this ECO will support the work of the proposed special committee.

Human Rights, Justice and Peacemaking

Face to Face/Faith to Faith

Face to Face/Faith to Faith is an international multi-faith youth leadership program that brings together Christian, Jewish, and Muslim teenagers from Northern Ireland, the Middle East, South Africa and the United States to develop a new generation of leaders trained to negotiate conflict in a global community. The yearlong program includes a summer intensive in the United States and ongoing educational and service projects in the home countries.

Mission Personnel

Janet Guyer, the child of missionaries to Thailand and an ordained PC(USA) minister, now serves as a regional AIDS consultant for Southern Africa. This AIDS ministry partners with churches in Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa. Sitting under a tree outside a church in a village, one man shared with her that AIDS is “like a wild elephant charging through the village.” A current initiative for Janet is to design retreats for pastors who carry the heavy burden of pastoral care for families and whole communities whose lives have been turned upside down by the impact of AIDS.

Doug Tilton works with the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and is regional liaison for southern Africa. He has been under appointment since 1992. The SACC was one of the bodies at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid and for democracy in South Africa. The historic negotiated settlement that cleared the way for the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 marked an important victory in the struggle for political rights. Much of their work now focuses on health and community development. Roughly half of the country’s 36 million Christians are affiliated with SACC member churches.

Other Support

Regional Liaison for Southern Africa

Gifts to this ECO provide travel and operating expenses for the work of regional liaisons in supporting: partner churches and programs, mission personnel, involvement of PC(USA) presbyteries and congregations and organizations and mission networks in the region, which includes Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

The Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa

The Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) is a reflection of the racial, cultural and socio-economic diversity in this region of Africa. As such the church faces a number of challenges and opportunities for ministry in the countries it serves — South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Gifts to this ECO help the UPCSA with rural development, lay and pastoral training and development, evangelistic outreach and ministries of racial reconciliation.

Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa — General Support

Donations to this ECO will support the work of the Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa.